Shore Thing Fishing Report, 10/9/24

October 9, 2024

Bait abounds everywhere, and big fish aren’t far behind.  But the cold fronts bringing the great fishing are also creating hazardous boating conditions.

​- by Sonny Schindler, Shore Thing Fishing Charters

Beautiful redfish caught just off the beaches near Long Beach Harbor.

The good news is that the cooler fall weather has definitely triggered a great bite on all the areas we fish. The Bay of St. Louis, the Mississippi Sound, Lake Borgne, and the Louisiana Marsh are all teaming with bait and hungry fish. 

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The bad news is that the cold fronts bringing this wonderful fishing kick up the wind and bring storms. You have to take the good with the bad and plan your outings around the wind and rain. If you see a cold front coming our way and you are able to get out a day or so ahead of it, the fishing is stellar.
 

Big bull shark from Cat Island. This one was caught in a school of pogies.

 
Everything revolves around the bait, and the bait seems to be everywhere. It’s a fantastic mix of speckled trout, white trout, redfish, black drum, sheepshead, and several other species fattening up for the winter. We are seeing pogies, mullet, and jumbo shrimp in areas we have not seen them in years.
  
With this bait comes big fish. We are thoroughly enjoying the big critters for now, until the temperatures really drop and they scatter. We should see big sharks, bull reds, and Jack Crevalles anywhere big schools of mullet and pogies are found.
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A redfish caught near sunset south of Bay St. Louis.

 
The huge push of shrimp has certainly made a difference on speckled trout and redfish fishing. We are also seeing the first wave of flounder. All signs are pointing to a big fall run of flounder, but only time will tell in the coming weeks if that’s the case.

Steve with a lunker trout he caught on a live shrimp ahead of a cold front.

 
The fish are there, and the bite is great, but please don’t take any chances getting on the wrong side of these cold fronts. Some of them can pack enough wind to put even larger offshore boats in jeopardy. The fishing should continue for several weeks, so please be careful and wait for good weather to head out.

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